On August 21, 1793, prominent Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush alerts the city's mayor that an epidemic of yellow fever was fast emerging. By the time the epidemic ended, some 5,000 people had died.
Yellow fever, or American plague as it was known at the time, is a viral disease that begins with fever and muscle pain. Next, victims often become jaundiced (hence, the term “yellow” fever), as their liver and kidneys cease to function normally. Some of the afflicted then suffer even worse symptoms. Famous early American Cotton Mather described it as “turning yellow, then vomiting and bleeding every way.” Internal bleeding in the digestive tract causes bloody vomit. Many victims become delirious before dying.
